Extract taken from (Human Values: A way of Life):
What is the meaning of educare?
The word vidya has its origin in the Sanskrit root vid, meaning wisdom, effulgence, and bliss. The equivalent term for vidya in English is education. Education is derived from ‘educare’, meaning ‘to bring out’ or ‘to elicit’. It refers to manifesting that which is latent in man. (SSS Vol.31, p. 418)
Manifestation of latent human values is known as ‘Educare.’
If a question is put, what is education? People say, it is the acquisition of knowledge. But it is not merely acquisition of knowledge; it must be in action. What is the end of education? Character is the end of education. What is the essence of education? Concentration is the essence of education. What is the aim of education? The aim of education is not only cultivating human qualities, but attaining divinity.
Education is meant for life, not for a living. If education is meant for a living, don’t we find birds and beasts, having no education whatsoever, doing the same? So, education should be for life. First of all, one should understand this truth. (SSS Vol.33, pp. 255-256)
Recently, Vice Chancellors of 25 famous Universities of India came to our Institute to take part in a seminar on Value Education. They were very eager to know about educare. They also wanted to know the workable method for introducing it into their curriculum. ‘Vidya nasti Paro dharma’. (There is no greater Dharma than Vidya). Therefore, one has to acquire real Vidya. Heart is the source of real Vidya. Mere accumulation of information is not Vidya. Vidya is eternal bliss. Real Vidya is educare. But head is the source of education. Educare starts from the source of the heart and comes out through Buddhi (intellect) whereas education is merely bookish knowledge emerging from the mind.
sukham atyantikam yat tad
buddhi-grahyam atindriyam
vetti yatra na caivayam
sthitas calati tattvatah
(Bhagavad Gita, 6:21)
Educare is Buddhi grahyam atindriyam (Educare transcends the senses and can be grasped only by intellect). (SS Apr 04 , April 2004, pp. 110-112)
When there are no thoughts, there will no words either. Divinity is beyond thoughts and words. Man should transcend the mind to realise the innate divinity. Realising one’s innate divinity is Educare. The innate divinity in man is also referred to as Atma. Without realising the nature of the Atma one cannot understand the nature of the body. Educare helps one to realise the nature of the Atma or the Self. As long as you identify yourself with the individual ‘I’, you cannot understand your true identity. It is only when you shed attachment to the individual ‘I’ and develop the feeling of equanimity can you understand the nature of the Atma or the fundamental ‘I’. The Atma-tattva (principle of the Self) is equally present in every being. This is the fundamental principle. It is only because of the fundamental principle that every living being acquires value. One has to recognise this fundamental principle. Only then does one deserve to be called a human being. In this world, birds and beasts live along with human beings. Man can be differentiated from birds and beasts only when he realises the fundamental ‘I’ which is the Atma-tattva. Since ancient times, people in India have been striving to realise this fundamental ‘I’ which is present in all beings. Life is present everywhere.
Man today has lost his peace. There is restlessness everywhere. In fact, the whole world is in a state of turmoil. People are facing great difficulties and worries in their life since their awareness is limited to their body. This body consciousness makes their life artificial. It does not reveal their true Self. One has to strive to realise the fundamental ‘I’. Human body is ephemeral and is bound to perish one day or the other. When we speak of ‘I’. it should not be limited to the ephemeral human body, but to the fundamental ‘I’. (SS Oct 05, p. 280)
Educare brings out our latent sacred values. Values are not to be taught but manifested. Mere accumulation of information from various books is not educare; it is education. Educare is the blossoming of the Divine Lotus in our heart. Educare enables us to be not just receptors but vibrators and radiators of values to all creation. Values are to be translated into action. That means, both precept and practice are equally important.
How to put the principles of educare into practice? Many modern boys and girls have no knowledge about these principles. It is absolutely necessary that every student should know all about educare and its importance. The latent powers in each student have to be brought out. These powers must play their part in all his activities as reflection, reaction and resound. Thus, the process of education has to work in such a way as to transform the students into reflections of their latent powers. They are to be moulded properly and shaped beautifully. (SSS Vol.37, pp. 58-59)
These days the world is taking to strange ways. In every field - physical, moral, spiritual - there is rampant pollution. We are of two minds with the way in which the world is moving amused and sad at the state of affairs.
Humanness is very sacred. There is no greater force than humanness. Man has to pursue of education - Education and Educare’. Education is acquiring knowledge from text books written by someone else. Educare is manifesting the divinity in a human being. This is by self-effort. It involves bringing out something which is already within, by one s own sadhana not bringing out evil qualities that are carefully and perversely preserved in one s bosom. Educare is bringing out or manifesting the human values of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa by sadhana. .
The first among the five human Values is Satya (truth). Who is the author or who spoke and taught about this Satya? It is said Manasyeka vachasyekam karmanyekam mahatmanam (those whose words and deeds are in perfect harmony are noble ones). Such noble souls have preached this truth time immemorial. Sathya (truth) manifests from one s own heart.
The second value is Dharma (righteousness). Who created this Dharma? What is Dharma and what is Dharma and what is Adharma? If you go on enquiring, it becomes clear that Dharrna is not something that is created by someone. Satyan nasti paro dharma. (There is no Dharma greater than adherence to truth). “You shall not tell anything but truth. What has happened should be reported truthfully. What all you have done, you should say it exactly.” This is what most people say and believe when they give the meaning of truth. But this is only one dimension of the vast interpretation of truth. Similarly, you must understand that Educare has much deeper meaning. In fact, Satya (truth) is educare; Dharma (righteousness) is educare. It is truth and righteousness which protected India from all dangers. Satya and Dharma do not come from outside. All that comes from outside is not permanent. Today it comes, tomorrow it goes. But what comes out from one’s heart is permanent. Educare comes from the heart and it has to go to other hearts only. (SSS Vol.37, pp. 58-59)
The third value is Shanti (peace). You enquire from any millionaire, "Sir! You have everything in this world for a happy living. Are you happy?" Pat came the reply, "I have everything, but I have no peace." Peace is not something that a person passes on or gives in charity to another person. It has to come from one s own heart. Today, wherever you see, "only pieces, no peace."
The fourth value is Prema (love). Where did this love come from? Did it come from mother or father or some friend? Did anyone gift it? No! Love is your very life-breath. Devoid of love, the world cannot exist.
The fifth human value is Ahimsa (non-violence). Gautama Buddha taught Ahimsa paro dharmah (nonviolence is the supreme dharma). But, today wherever you see, there is only violence. Like the other human values, the heart is the seat of non-violence.
The five human values Satya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema and Ahimsa are not independent of each other. They closely follow one another. These five qualities are the gift of God to a human being. We as human beings have to manifest these five human values by putting them into practice. That is Educare . (SSS Vol.39, pp. 216-218)
Sacred qualities originate from the heart
Educare comprises two aspects; one is related to the head and the other to the heart. Those faculties that enable man to carry on activities like reading, writing, undertaking a job, and earning a livelihood are related to the head. Sacred qualities like compassion, love, patience, truth, righteousness, and justice originate from the heart. These are meant for life, not for a living. The former relates to pravritti, which is external and negative in nature; the latter to nivritti, which is internal and positive in nature. Every form of knowledge and capacity is latent in man. He is endowed with all types of potentialities — physical, mental, spiritual, and ethical. The true aim of education is to make explicit the innate powers of man. These are of two types. One relates to the knowledge of external things, and the organ that manifests this power is the head (brain). The organ that enables one to bring out the inner knowledge is the heart. The former relates to physical existence while the latter to higher learning or living in its true sense. Life will become ideal only when both these types of knowledge are made to manifest in harmony. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, p. 170)
Compassion, love, truth, and patience cannot be acquired through the study of books. They are latent in our hearts. Education manifests these latent qualities in man. All that emanates from the head is transient. Good health is ensured by the proper utilisation of head and heart. There are many unseen qualities in man. But man values only that which he sees, hears, and experiences; no importance is given to that which is unseen. That which is unseen is actually responsible for experiencing the fruits of one’s action. (SSS Vol.31, p. 418)
All human qualities spring from the heart only; they cannot be obtained from teachers or texts. Today, we are human only in form, lacking human qualities. We should bring out our latent human qualities and start practising them. This will foster good health in us. (SSS Vol.31, p. 418)
There should be unity of thought, word and deed. You should speak what you think and do what you say. When you observe the unity of thought, word and deed, you will become embodiments of Divine Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshvara). In fact, this is true humanness. Human quality lies in the unity of all the three. Unity does not mean a number of people forming a group. Unity of thought, word and deed is the real unity. That is true educare. (SS Oct 08, p. 281)
‘Educare’ Confers Immortality.
The word Educare has a sacred inner meaning. That which is manifested by Educare cannot be seen by the eyes, cannot be heard by the ears and cannot be felt by the mind. But all that education confers can be seen, heard and felt. Education fosters desires leads to rebirth, whereas Educare confers immortality. There will be no rebirth. The inner divine qualities like truth, righteousness peace, patience, forbearance and love cannot be seen by the naked eye and they lead to no birth. Modern education is giving rise to desires, which form the basis for rebirth. You need to develop detachment to control desires. Attachment leads to bondage and restlessness. The innate values alone control the desires. Inner voice leads to detachment.
You have to enquire into the difference between attachment and detachment. To attain detachment, you must obtain release from worldly bondage. Here is a small example. When you insert the key into the lock and turn it to the right, the lock opens; you turn it to left, it gets locked. The heart is the lock, the mind is the key. You get attachment, when your mind is turned towards the world. When it is turned towards God, you attain liberation. It is the same lock and the same key that are responsible for bondage and liberation. The mere change in the direction causes a change in the consequence, namely, bondage or liberation. Liberation is not some specific location-an air-conditioned paradise. It is a state of supreme peace. Where do you get the supreme peace? It is to be obtained in the realm of a pure heart. It is steady, sacred and utterly selfless. To enjoy supreme peace, you should achieve a supreme state. Unity, purity and Divinity, when these three principles are unified, it takes you to supreme state. Take, for instance, Rama and Lakshmana. You know what kind of brothers they were? Lakshmana was totally loyal and followed the commands of his elder brother and thereby attained the supreme state. What is the condition of the Ramas and Lakshmanas today? Instead of attaining supreme state through unity, they go to Supreme Court to settle property disputes. Desires take you to Supreme Court. When there are no desires, no quarrels, there will be no Supreme Court. You will be in the constant state of Supreme peace. (SSS Vol.33, pp. 256-258)
One does not become a scholar or a learned person as soon as one is born. These qualifications are acquired over many years and after much effort. Educare is the name given to this process that brings to the surface the latent virtues and values. The secular instruction that is currently offered everywhere is education. Dealing as it does exclusively with the phenomenal world, it is artificial. As Swami often says, “Art is outside while heart is inside.” Therefore art is education while heart is educare. There is no person in the world today who can be said to be truly learned in the sense of Educare.
He has studied everything,
And mastered all;
Yet a fool he remains,
Not knowing about the Self.
No matter how advanced the learning,
Or how high the position held,
A mean person will ever remain mean.
Too much scholarship
Promotes only argumentation.
No matter what the attainments,
The scholar too one day has to die.
Hence seek that Knowledge Supreme,
Which alone leads to Immortality.
(SSB 2000, pp. 64-65)
Education, Educare and Their Benefits
Can you call all those who know how to read and write educated?
Can one be called educated merely by acquiring degrees?
Can you call it education which does not confer virtues?
If education is just for a living, don’t we find birds and beasts carrying on their lives?
(Telugu poem) (SSS Vol.38, p. 184)
Worldly education imparts knowledge pertaining to the physical world. Spiritual education is essential, without which human life has little value. But, in the modern education system, spirituality finds no place. Only worldly education is given prominence. Just as two wings are essential for a bird to soar high in the sky, and two wheels for a cart to move; so also two types of education are needed for man to attain the goal of life. Spiritual education is for life, whereas worldly education is for a living.
Only when man is equipped with these two aspects of education can he be deserving of respect and adoration in society. Possession of these two aspects of education will bring not only respect and adulation but also self-satisfaction. Worldly education, which relates to the head, is ephemeral. Reading, writing, eking out a livelihood, and attaining name and fame —all these result from worldly education. Worldly education makes man great, whereas the spiritual education makes man good. Spiritual education relates to the heart, which is the origin of sacred qualities like compassion, truth, forbearance and love. (SSS Vol.32 Part II, p. 3)
No doubt, education has to be pursued and some activities have to be undertaken in the world for leading a comfortable life. One has to take care of the worldly needs for himself and his family like food, clothing and shelter. But, to what extent? These are all activities that one undertakes for the sake of oneself and one’s family, not for others. Modern education is breeding selfishness. It is for acquiring goods and services for one’s own comfort.
These are worldly pleasures. The qualities of kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya (desire, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy) drive man’s efforts in pursuit of worldly pleasures. No doubt the worldly education helps to provide comfort and joy in the objective world, but it does not at all contribute to inner bliss. It is only the five human values of Satya (truth), Dharma (righteousness), Shanti (peace), Prema (love) and Ahimsa (non-violence) that confer inner bliss.
A person who cultivates these five human values will always be happy. The five senses of action provide external pleasure; but the five human values confer inner bliss. Education helps to obtain various conveniences for external pleasure, whereas inner bliss can be experienced only by Educare. There is a lot of difference between Education and Educare. Education involves reading of books written by someone and listening to the lectures delivered by someone. Educare, however, has nothing to do with books. It has no form at all! It is Truth that has no form. (SSS Vol.42, pp. 209-210)
Wherever you go, whatever activity you may undertake, let your heart be filled with love. Such a person, wherever he is, whether in the town or in the forest or in the sky or in a deep sea will surely be protected. Divine love neither grows nor diminishes. It always remains the same. (SSS Vol.42, pp. 210-211)
Educare is related to bhava (feeling), whereas education is related to bahya (external). The education you acquire should be beneficial to society. You should utilise your knowledge and intelligence for the benefit of society. Keep your emotions under check. Do not fret and fume like Durvasa who had no control over his temper. Only the one who has complete control over himself is a true human being. (SSS Vol.39, pp. 5-6)
Education and Educare Must Go Hand In Hand
Educare is that which makes the human values blossom from within. Whether you have acquired educare or mere education will become evident in your speech. you should not talk loosely; especially when you speak to elders, you should carefully frame your sentences and speak with all humility and respect. True education is not limited to textual knowledge. You should manifest the human values of truth, righteousness, love, peace and non-violence. Truth should not be confined to mere words. It should be translated into deeds. Share your knowledge with others.
Let us all move together, let us all grow together,
Let us all stay united and share our knowledge,
Let us live together with friendship and harmony.
(Telugu poem) (SSS Vol.38, p. 69)